I recently started feeling like crap, please help me interpret my blood test.

Shoebacca wrote:

9/10

That hematocrit makes me smile.

Agreed. Those numbers (higher-range hemoglobin/hematocrit, with just barely increased MCV) is classic for what you'd expect for someone on EPO.

Guys, look at the username. Clearly this is a high-effort troll.

Are you kidding me? You're just out of shape. You are probably carrying a lot of extra weight lol.

Kris Krinkle wrote:

Are you kidding me? You're just out of shape. You are probably carrying a lot of extra weight lol.

I am not kidding. I agree that I am out of shape, but not just out of shape. I've been through this process a couple of times by now and know the difference between feeling like shit because I'm out of shape and feeling like shit for another reason. Another reason I don't think this is just being out of shape is that I am feeling really weird during day to day activities. I've been having a difficult time concentrating in classes, and just feeling like I want to get out. And for some reason light is kinda disturbing me, making me want to squint my eyes.

My digestion has been horrible too. And almost every run I attempt, I'll have some sort of problem, sloshy stomach or having to go.

Holy crap, I kid you not I know someone that just got a blood test and literally got these exact same numbers, that's incredible. I'll ask him what he and his doctor discussed and get back to you.

No friggin way! wrote:

Holy crap, I kid you not I know someone that just got a blood test and literally got these exact same numbers, that's incredible. I'll ask him what he and his doctor discussed and get back to you.

Same problems too?

Whoops, egg on my face, turns out you are the person I know and you already talked with your doctor and he/she told you you were normal.

I actually had a very similar thing happen to me. Ran a 4:26 mile in highschool, and because of injuries I went into college without having any real improvements. Started back with training and after some more injury issues, finally started back into it. Then all the weird symptoms started, and I just felt like I had no energy, really felt like I was pushing hard for slower than normal easy runs, and a whole bunch of other small weird changes. I decided to get a blood test and everything came back normal just like you. I can try to find my results if you want. I kept training hoping that I was just out of shape or something, but there wasn't really any improvement. After a few months of this, I started to feel really irritable, gain weight (fat) despite my running, and I was having trouble getting an erection. I went to a specialist and it turned out I had low testosterone. Once I started compensating for that, everything went back to normal, and I just ran a 4:16 this indoor season. I would definitely recommend it.

Agree with it being low testosterone but disagree with the course of action. Ride it out, don't try and compensate, and soon you'll be legally able to compete for the girls team. By the sounds of things, you should be able to make varsity on most DIII women teams without too much trouble.

RunHarwell wrote:

[quote]LI Runner wrote:

Talk to your doctor about the results.

No, no; just keep coming back here; we'll crowd-source you to health

Uhhhh, does anyone even read the front page anymore? Rashid Driouch was just caught for doping after Mo Farah turned him in. Clearly OP is a troll living under a troll bridge and you uninformed "followers of the sport" fell for it hook line and sinker. Honestly read a book sometime.

5/10 OP only because I had to come on here to explain to almost everyone why your an obvious troll

Don't you mean you felt like carp?

Get off the caffeine! That stuff is poison. Will take a week or 2 just to get it out of your system.

It does not matter that he is not anemic right now. Macrocytosis will precede development of an anemia, and can by itself be a clue to disease process.

To the OP:

This is a common lab abnormality seen in an otherwise seemingly healthy outpatient - 'macrocytosis' - elevated MCV without anemia.

Your results could be within the range of normal, as your doctor is telling you. There is small percentage of people whose MCV is greater than 100 but are 'normal variants', although they are usually on the older side. How old are you? However, I would not ordinarily assume this until other causes of macrocytosis have been ruled out.

The recommended follow-up testing for macrocytosis is as follows:

TSH (test for hypothyroidism or low thyroid)

Retic count

vitamin B12/Folate levels (testing for vitamin deficiencies)

peripheral smear of blood

possibly serum protein electrophoresis

As the poster above mentioned, liver disease/alcoholism would be a consideration but your liver labs are normal and you are not an alcoholic.

You are not iron deficient - if you were, your MCV would be low.

Prior complete blood counts would be helpful in figuring out whether the macrocytosis is new or not.

If all these tests were to come back negative, your bloodwork is probably normal and you may be overtraining.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies. The more I look into the symptoms of hypo, the more I think I might have a problem. I seem to be gaining fat despite having about a clean a diet as possible. And even when when I did have some respectable mileage I would still retain fat. And my legs and feet have been swelling at night. And I have to make sure I don't eat too much sodium or else I puff up.

Reader of the front page wrote:

Uhhhh, does anyone even read the front page anymore?

I tried it once, but the spelling and grammar were so bad I had to stop.

Rashid Driouch wrote:

Thanks for the replies. The more I look into the symptoms of hypo, the more I think I might have a problem. I seem to be gaining fat despite having about a clean a diet as possible. And even when when I did have some respectable mileage I would still retain fat. And my legs and feet have been swelling at night. And I have to make sure I don't eat too much sodium or else I puff up.

I'm the doctor that gave you your test and told you that nothing was wrong. You're an idiot. I know a lot more about this shit than you do. Stop trying to find an excuse as to why you aren't good.

Jasper, MD wrote:

It does not matter that he is not anemic right now. Macrocytosis will precede development of an anemia, and can by itself be a clue to disease process.

Sure it matters. He has his symptoms now and has had them in the past. We're not talking about the future, which is when he might start to see results of the macrocytosis if it is a significant factor.

He has a normal/high H/H, so insufficient hemoglobin to carry oxygen to tissues is very much the wrong answer.

I don't disagree that further workup may be warranted.

I also don't disagree that this is likely a troll OP.

It all makes sense. Why I hate the cold so much, why my fingers and toes get cold so easily, why I want to drink hot beverages all the time, why I always wear long sleeves during training, why I like my room to be so hot, why I do so much better in everything in the summer.